Pico Technology

Results

Suitable for
Ages 9 - 16
KS3	KS4

It can be seen from Figure 2 below that the oxygen level makes a steady fall over the 24 hours showing the uptake of oxygen in the reaction which results in rusting.

You should also be able to see that rusting has taken place by the appearance of the brownish-orange oxide coating that will have formed on the steel wool.

The average room temperature for this experiment was around 21ºC.

Figure 2 Graph of oxygen level with time

Teacher Notes

Download the worksheet for this experiment as a MS Word document
Safety Issues:
None

Time:
Time taken to setup experiment: < 30mins
Time taken to perform experiment: 1 day

Target Age Groups:
Ages 9 -16 (Key Stage levels 3 and 4)

National Curriculum:

KS3 Science - Sc3 Patterns of behaviour
Metals
Pupils should be taught: how metals react with oxygen, water, acids and oxides of other metals, and what the products of these reactions are.

KS4 Double award Science - Sc3 Materials and their properties
Patterns of behaviour
Pupils should be taught: Chemical reactions - about different types of chemical reaction, including neutralisation, oxidation, reduction and thermal decomposition, and examples of how these are used to make new materials.